Francisco Liriano went 9-10 with a 5.09 ERA in 2011. He also threw a no-hitter. (Chicago Tribune File photo)

Jason Marquis went 8-6 with a 4.43 ERA in 2011 while pitching for Washington and Arizona. (Getty Images file photo)

If you aren't fired up for spring training, consider this: Pitching coach Rick Anderson already has his starting pitching set for the Twins' first three exhibitions games. The order is Carl Pavano, Francisco Liriano and Jason Marquis, which is just as it will be to start the regular season.

"We've got 33 pitchers coming in," Anderson said Sunday from Florida. "I've already talked to just about every one of them. We have 13 days to get ready to play. We have the time to get ready."

Thirty-three of 'em! You've got to think at least a couple of them can pitch.

"We've got 'B' games and split squads," Anderson said. "With 33 pitchers, we need to find innings to see what they've got. I was thinking about this just this morning: In the past, maybe we've had a couple of spots open, and we didn't have a whole lot of options. This year, we've got nine or 10 guys with a legitimate shot. Maybe more.

"T.K. always says, 'Don't let spring training fool you,' " Anderson added with a laugh. "But this year it's going to be go, go, go. If you don't have a good spring, we'll send you down to Triple-A and say, 'Maybe we'll see you again.' This year, guys are pitching for jobs and not just to get in shape."

If Scott Baker and Nick Blackburn are healthy, they'll round out the rotation, at least to start the season. But there is a backlog of bodies building behind them. That sends Brian Duensing back to the bullpen, where he'll join Glen Perkins, Joel Zumaya (if healthy) and Matt Capps.

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Anderson then mentioned about 10 other guys who could earn a job. We'll see. The bullpen still hasn't recovered from the loss of Matt Guerrier and Jesse Crain two years ago.

Capps probably is going to surprise some people. I really believe that if the fans understood what was going on with him last season, they wouldn't have given him such a hard time.

"It broke my heart every time people booed him before he even got to the mound," Anderson said.

Carl Pavano will be the Twins' Opening Day starter. He went 9-13 with a 4.30 earned-run average in 2011. (San Jose Mercury News File photo)

The Twins had several players who were on the shelf with lesser injuries than Capps' bad forearm. Yet he kept taking the ball.

"Here's Cappy taking the ball and going out there every day and not saying a word," Anderson said. "I don't think we ever asked Eddie (Guardado) or Nathan to pitch more than one inning, except once or twice. We asked Cappy to do it about every night."

Anderson said Capps is back to 100 percent. That should mean that one major worry is eliminated. The other thing Anderson really is concerned about is hammering home the fact that the pitchers have to throw the ball over the plate and trust their fielders to make the plays behind them.

Based on last season, that's going to require a tremendous leap of faith.

"Carl Pavano had a hell of a year, but a lot of people don't realize it," Anderson said. "Sometimes, we gave the other team 34, 35 outs a game, but he kept pitching."

Some of the other pitchers, however, took to nibbling. Perhaps they did so subconsciously, afraid to watch another ball skitter through the infield.

"With Carroll at short and Lexi (Casilla) playing every day at second, and with a healthy Span in center, they'll track it down," Anderson said. "When your fastball is in the 88-89 range and you're not a strikeout pitcher, you've got to throw it over. That's what we tell them. And we have a lot of guys in that range."

Anderson says he is eager to see all the new guys in action. He knows the team will end up having to make some tough choices. Best-case scenario is that at least two of them show they can make a contribution.

"It's like Terry Ryan said to me the other day, 'Maybe we'll get lucky,' " Anderson said.

Worst-case scenario is that the staff ends up looking and performing very much like last year's. But it's hard to envision seeing some of those same tired bodies. Many of the new guys have major-league experience and should make a real push.

I don't know if the pitching will be better or worse, although it's hard to imagine the latter, but at least it could be a little different. And different is good. Meanwhile, Ron Gardenhire is fiddling with lineups on his notepad and Anderson is penciling in pitchers for various 'B' and split-squad games.

It's been a mild winter but a long one. Pitchers and catchers report Saturday. Bring on spring training.